Service sector, NLW, pricing, DOM, CCH, CCEP, Molson, Marriott & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Don’t you find loyalty taxes annoying.

I mean you sign up for something, and you’re on the ‘super-duper-we-value-you-as-a-customer’ tariff and then, if you don’t set you’re alarm clock to quit a set number of months later, you find yourself mysteriously transferred onto their ‘you-mug-we’ve-got-your-number, inertia punishment’ tariff.

Which may be two or three times the price you thought you were paying and then you forget how you paid it, who paid it, whether it’s monthly or yearly, is it a direct debit, which account does it get charged to and all the rest.

And then who set the password (default position – it’ll be one of the kids who controls it, but payments coming out of your bank account) so it’s easy to put it on the ‘too-difficult’ pile but then, when the incremental financial pain gets to a certain level, you feel you need to clear your desk, a forearm sweep to left and straight into the bin will do the trick, and do something about it.

And therapeutic is certainly is but, as Coldplay nearly said with your monthly broadband renegotiation clearly in mind, nobody said it was easy, but nobody said it would be quite this hard.

Anyway, with a bit of effort you can completely exit deals at £6.99 a month here, £14.99 a month there, Sony PlayStation this, and Nintendo that – and neither have been in the house for half a decade and what on earth is Quizlet – and then clip a bit more from other bills by threatening to leave and, though you might not be able to cost-save yourself to riches, doing so certainly scratches an itch.

On to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Service Sector:

S&P yesterday released its Purchasing Managers’ Index for the UK’s dominant Services Sector saying that ‘the UK service economy lost momentum in July, reflecting sluggish demand at home and abroad….’

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NLW etc: UKH has said that it and its members ‘have always supported the principle of the National Living Wage, and we share the Government’s ambition to raise living standards for everyone. The ambition is right, but the timing and pace of increases must be carefully considered in the context of the wider economic environment….’

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Menu prices:

Lumina Intelligence reports that operators have raised menu prices by as much as 13.9% in Q2 this year compared to last…

Footfall: CAMRA reports that ‘nearly half of UK pubgoers are cutting back on pub visits as cost pressures bite.’ It adds that ‘the Chancellor is warned that the cost-of-living crisis is pricing people out of the pub….’

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COMPANY NEWS:

Domino’s Pizza Group shares finished the day down 43p (or 17.5%) yesterday on the back of H1 numbers that included a profit warning as regards trading for the rest of the calendar year.

Coca-Cola HBC has reported H1 numbers to 27 June 2025 saying that organic volume grew 2.6% ‘with notable strength in Emerging markets.’ It says ‘Q2 volumes improved to +3.2%, with all segments contributing.’ The company reports net sales revenue of €5.6bn, up 8.6%. EBIT is up 15.2% at €644.6m and EPS is €1.297 (up 24.4%)…

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Coca Cola Europacific Partners has reported H1 numbers to 27 June saying that revenues rose by 4.5% to €10.3bn with operating profit up 19.4% to €1.36bn. The group reports diluted EPS of 199c, up 15% on last year…

The Explorer Group, which has around 20 Starbucks units in the East of Scotland alongside one M&S food outlet and a property division, has reported results to 31 December 2024 to Companies’ House saying that revenue (on the back of new openings) rose by around 36% to £23.9m. The company adds that operating profit slipped to £1.4m from £2.1m in the prior year (on the back of lower GP% – mostly due to mix-change) and higher admin costs). The company reports that interest charges more than doubled to £419k and PBT fell from £1.47m to £844k…

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Butcombe Pubs & Inns has reported that LFL sales across its managed pubs rose by 9.8% in H1. The company says that ‘the business has continued to deliver a strong performance with a sustained focus on investment into the estate, elevated food offering, loyalty and data…’

In the US, restaurant giant YUM Brands has reported Q2 numbers saying that worldwide system sales grew 4% led by Taco Bell at 6% and KFC at 5%. Pizza Hut has clearly been less buoyant. YUM adds that it added 871 units (not accounting for closures) in Q2…

Molson Coors yesterday reported Q2 numbers saying that net sales slipped by 1.6% in the quarter compared to Q2 last year to $3.20bn. Income before taxation was 0.9% down at $555m but EPS was up on the back of share buybacks by 6.8% at 205c (FY24: 192c)…

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HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Marriott yesterday reported Q2 numbers saying that global Q2 REVPAR was up by 1.5% split between international (up 5.3%) and US & Canada (flat). The company reports that Q2 reported net income totalled $763 million and adjusted net income totalled $728 million…

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OTHER LEISURE:

Audioboom reports this morning that the company ‘and its recently acquired British podcast network Adelicious, continue to develop their video strategy and platform capabilities as production and consumption of video podcasting accelerates….’

Meta says that its subsidiary WhatsApp has deleted around 6.8 million accounts linked to scams. It says many were run by organised criminals in South East Asia.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Sterling mixed at $1.3308 and €1.1497. Oil lower at $68.07. UK 10 year gilt yield up 1 basis point at 4.52%. World markets mostly better yesterday and London set to open around 41 points higher as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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